


Memories

by BrotherWhy



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, Memories, eldery people, long marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 13:29:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18829600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrotherWhy/pseuds/BrotherWhy
Summary: Have you ever sat down and listened to the stories of an elderly person? Have you ever listened to their memories of their loved ones? Have you ever imagined what you would tell the next generation about your life when you're that old?Maybe you will, after reading this.





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/gifts).



I sighed.  

Watching myself in the mirror from head to toe, I had to admit, that the white coat I bought yesterday didn’t fit as much as I thought it would.  

Maybe it was just seeing myself in it, that confused me. Maybe I was just too nervous, like always.  

I sighed again. 

Why did I have to wear a coat anyway? I didn’t like them. White coats were a sign of distance, and I didn’t want to appear distant at all. I wanted to be a good doctor.  

_ Only one more year,  _ I thought to myself, feeling the panic crawling up my neck.  

After five years of studying medicine, I still didn’t feel ready for this job. But I loved it. I truly loved it, with all my being. And I loved the patients.  

_ Maybe this is why the coat bothers me, _ I said to myself.  _ Maybe because everybody would think I am a real doctor, although I’m just...  helpless. _

Trying to calm myself down, I ran a hand through my hair.  

I had to wear this thing. Those were the rules. So fuck it.  

And with that, I grabbed my bag and left the house.  

“So this is your workplace for the next two weeks.”  

The man in front of me, a middle-aged general practitioner who looked tired as hell, was pointing at the building next to us.  

A retirement home. 

I frowned. 

“But... I thought I should watch you working in your office?” 

Mr. Smith smiled. It was a weak, fake smile.  

“Listen, I know you can’t wait to sit behind the big desk and do a big surgery, but this is my work. I’m in charge of this old people's home, next to my work in the office. And since you’re almost done with your training, I need you here.” 

My heart stopped for a second.  

Blinking, I realised my mentor was already on his way into the building. Quickly, I followed him.  

“Wait! What do you mean? I have to work here... alone? What should I do? I’m not a doctor! I don’t have any knowledge at all! I can’t save lives or something! I...” 

“Relax. This is perfect for you.” 

I stared at him like he was telling me aliens were real.  

Mr. Smith sighed.  

“All these elderly people need is someone who will look after them. Talk to them. Get to know their problems. And maybe change their medication, but the latter isn’t your job. I just don’t have the time to talk to them like they deserve it. So you will be my ears. That’s all.” 

I swallowed.  

Talking to patients is a skill I had – I couldn’t argue with that.  

But I was still fucking nervous.  

“Take your time to listen to their stories, and to examine them. You will learn more than you think, trust me.” 

“Okay.” 

The doctor was giving me another one of his weak smiles before we entered the first floor.  

Mr. Smith took his time to show me the building. He explained the procedure, introduced me to the nurses and some patients, and gave me some papers I could work with. Although he always looked tired, his face lit up when he was talking to the elderly people, and I couldn’t resist staring at him. His body language would change when he was working, and I loved it. After two hours I really had no questions to ask anymore – he made sure to prepare me thoroughly.  

He really was a good doctor.  

Since there were still six hours left when the doctor went to his car without me, I tried to make myself a list of what to do.  

Going through the patient files, I made myself a plan of the different rooms, before I decided to start my tour to introduce myself to the patients.  

It was lovely.  

Many of the elderly people were happy to see me. They were friendly and communicative, and I quickly realised what Mr. Smith had meant when he said he hadn’t the time for this.  

These people needed someone to talk to.  

And I was there to listen.  

It took me a while to adjust to the different situations. Like, talking louder and more clearly or repeating myself for the hundredth time because of the dementia of some patients.  

On my first day, after eight hours, I’ve only managed to introduce myself to half of the patients. 

Fortunately, there were nine more days to go.  

“Well done, I’ll change Mrs. Miller’s medication.” Mr. Smith told me while taking notes on the next morning.  

I smiled, feeling actually a little bit proud.  

I couldn’t wait to get to know the rest of the patients.  

Watching my mentor leave like the day before, I began to sort the patient files in front of me. There were around 20 old, lovely people left to talk to today. 

After four hours, I was about to enter the last room on the floor, when suddenly Mrs. Tanner, one of the lovely nurses, approached. 

“Just to warn you… this will be a battle.” She was pointing at the room in front of me. 

“232 Mr. Kaiba” was printed in clear black letters next to the door. 

I frowned. 

_ Kaiba?... But… _

Mrs. Tanner smiled. 

“Interesting, isn’t it? Well, just go in there, love. You will be surprised. Just don’t take it too personally.” She winked at me and was gone. 

_ What… the heck? _

Shrugging, I took a deep breath and entered the room.

 

The room was surprisingly big. It took me a moment to realise that it was actually two rooms before someone had taken the walls out. 

The windows to a private balcony were wide open. A light summer breeze made the white curtains dance in the wind. The warm afternoon sun made the whole room light up in a soft, golden colour. Blinking, I realised that the furniture was totally different in comparison to the other rooms. There was a huge bed, some wardrobes, a small table… everything in different tones of white and grey, in contrast to the almost golden shade of colour on the walls.

It looked decent. 

On the far end of the room, a wheelchair was placed in front of the opened windows. I could see a silhouette sitting in it. 

Clearing my throat, I slowly got closer. 

“Mr. Kaiba?”

The person flinched. When I reached the wheelchair, I positioned myself in front of it so I was clearly visible to the patient. 

In the wheelchair sat an elderly man. He was quite small and thin. His hair was an interesting mix of blonde, red and grey, neatly combed into a clean bun. He was wearing a black pair of trousers and a black blouse which gave his style a feminine touch. A black, soft looking blanket was placed on his thighs to protect the slim body from the cool air. When I looked him in the face, I was surprised to see a decent black line of eyeliner under deep, crimson sparkling eyes. The man was wearing golden jewelry on his ears and arms. 

He looked like a star. 

“And who are you, disturbing my peace?”

He sounded pissed. 

I sighed. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kaiba. My name is Kim. I am a medicine student, almost done with my…”

“What do you want?”

Oh. This man was edgy. 

I smiled politely. 

“Since I am the right hand of your doctor, Mr. Smith, I would like to talk with you about your situation and…”

“Everything’s fine. Now go.”

I frowned. 

“Mr. Kaiba, I understand that you want your peace, and I will be gone in two minutes, I promise. I just have to fill in this paper with you so I can tell Mr. Smith …”

I was interrupted again, this time by a very loud, annoyed groan. 

“Just stop talking, okay? Do your shit and leave me alone.”

_ Wow. What an asshole. _

I smiled even brighter. 

“Thank you, Mr. Kaiba. That is very kind of you.”

For the first time, he actually looked me in the face. After that, he began to inspect my body from head to toe, looking slightly disgusted. 

I tried to stay calm, smiling at him the whole time. 

My jaw was already hurting. 

When Mr. Kaiba was ready to look up again, he frowned. 

Following his gaze, I saw that he was staring at my pen, which was placed in the coat pocket on my chest. 

It was my favourite pen. I had gotten it from my dad before he passed away. It was a handmade, black shining pen with the possibility to write on different displays, too. 

It took me a second to understand that it had the ‘KC’ logo on its head. 

“Do you like my pen?” I asked friendly. 

Mr. Kaiba looked away. 

Sighing again, I grabbed a chair and sat next to him. 

“So, I guess you’re related to Mr. Seto Kaiba?”

The old man made a derogatory noise, rolling his eyes. 

“Stupid thing, you haven’t read my file?”

My left eyelid started to twitch. 

“No, I haven’t. I just thought we could have a nice conversation here, Mr. Kaiba.”

My words sounded more short-tempered than I wanted them to sound, but it was too late. 

The man with the colourful hair tilted his head - and smiled. 

“Little thing has a personality.”

“Little thing just wants to know why your name is Kaiba.”

There was a short moment of silence in which we both just stared at the other one. 

Suddenly Mr. Kaiba spoke again. 

“I’m his husband.”

“What?”

He chuckled at my reaction of pure surprise. 

“I know. Seto Kaiba - gay? The answer is yes, super gay.”

His face turned serious again. 

“At least he was.”

My heart ached as I heard his voice breaking. Seto Kaiba had died two years ago at the age of 77. I had never known that he had left a mourning widower. 

Without thinking about it further, I put a hand on his. He looked at me. His eyes were full of tears. 

“I am very sorry for your loss,” I whispered. 

Mr. Kaiba inspected my face like he was searching for something fake in it, but suddenly he just nodded. 

“Thank you.”

And with that, we just sat for a while next to each other, looking into the distance of the decent landscape. There was a small lake in a forest right next to the home. A bunch of teenagers bathed in it. 

“So… tell me what you want to know so I can get rid of you,” the elderly man spoke again, but this time there was no hate in his words. He actually gave me a little smile. 

I grinned. 

_ I made it. I challenged the end boss.  _

It was just sad that all he needed was someone who wouldn’t go away when he was insulting them. He had opened up so easily after that. 

Mr. Kaiba, whose first name was Atem, gave me all the information I needed to fill in my report for Mr. Smith. I noted everything down - his data, his diseases (not that he had many at that age!), his allergies and his medication. He was surprisingly healthy at his age.

“So, Mr. Kaiba, what do you think is your biggest problem right now?” I asked after I finished my paperwork, looking at him attentively. 

The old man reached out to grab a picture from his night table with shaking hands. Softly stroking the surface, he smiled at it. It showed Seto Kaiba, who was placing a kiss on Atem  Kaiba’s forehead, both in their thirties.

I swallowed. 

“You miss him, don’t you?”

A small tear streamed down the old man’s face as he looked up. 

“No shit, Sherlock,” he whispered as an answer, smiling sadly. 

I snorted. This man was a character. 

Mr. Kaiba looked at the picture again. A tear landed on the frame.

“I even forgot how he smelled. And his clothes don’t smell like him anymore.”

Feeling my heart beating painfully hard in my chest, I swallowed. 

“Are there any things, any scents that remind you of him?”

He looked at me and frowned. 

“I mean… are there any scents of things you connect with memories of him? If so, I could help you with that. Just give me a list of things, and I will bring them to you. And then we can talk about the memories.”

I watched the elderly man thinking about my question. 

He suddenly got very serious. 

“Why are you doing this?”

I smiled politely. 

“Because I like you.”   
He snorted. 

“You like the grumpiest, craziest, gayest grandpa of this shitty home?”

“Yes, I do.”

Another moment of silence went by before he nodded. 

“Nevermind. So… little thing wants to be my errand boy? I like that. Take notes!” he demanded. His attitude was back. 

I prepared my KC-pen and looked at him, my face full of expectation. 

“Bring me: a rose, a jar of coffee beans - Mexican coffee beans, a piece of leather - from a cow, not perfumed, a bottle full of seawater from the Atlantic Ocean and…”

My eyelid was twitching again as I took my notes. Suddenly he stopped mid-sentence, and I looked up to watch him biting his lip in frustration. 

“And?”

“Nothing.”

“What else do you want?”

“Petrichor.”

“...Sorry?”

Mr. Kaiba grinned at me. 

“Stupid thing. Just write it down and google it. Or not. It doesn’t matter. You can’t give me that.”

Frowning, I wrote a few letters down. I had literally no idea how to spell this word. 

I sighed. 

“Well, to be honest, I don’t know if I can bring you all of this till tomorrow.”

“Of course you can’t.”

It was a simple statement, but I felt dangerously challenging. 

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Kaiba. I will talk to you again tomorrow.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just tell the nurse she has to bring me a painkiller. Your voice gave me a headache.”

He waved me aside, and I was dismissed. 

_ Fucking asshole.  _

 

\----------------------------------------------------

 

“See, I just want a damn rose. I don’t care which colour. It just has to smell like a rose!”

The young florist blinked at me. 

She had spent the last 20 minutes explaining all the different kinds of roses. At first, I was polite as always, listening to her, nodding and smiling. But now it was dangerously late in the morning, and I really didn’t want to miss Mr. Smith at the retirement home. 

She mumbled inaudible rude things to herself and picked up a crimson rose before wrapping it up in some paper. 

Relieved, I quickly paid her and made my way to my temporary workplace. 

I had decided to collect all the things one by one. Each day an item. At least this was my plan. It had taken me all night long to search the internet for a website which sold seawater from different oceans. Apparently, there was one. God knows why. 

It would take some days to be delivered, though. 

 

I finished my morning routine quickly, feeling the excitement rising in me. A rose was truly the most mainstream thing Mr. Kaiba could have asked for, but I didn’t care. I wanted to know about all the details. I just hoped he wouldn’t insult me today. 

When I knocked on his door and entered, he already sat in his wheelchair in the middle of the room, watching me expectantly. 

“Good morning, Mr. Kaiba, how…”

“Give it to me.”

I rolled my eyes.  _ Jesus Christ.  _

“Here you go. You’re very welcome,” I muttered while handing him the rose. He took it with shaking fingers. 

The old man stopped his motion for a second before he closed his eyes and smelled blossom.

 

_ “What?” _

_ “Nothing.” _

_ Atem frowned, watching Kaiba look away. _

What the fuck?

_ “...Are you blushing?” _

_ “No! I’ve got a sunburn, you weirdo!” _

_ The young CEO started to pat his trousers to get rid of some grass on it. _

_ Atem eyed him intensively.  _

_ It was a nice summer afternoon, and they both sat on a hill outside Domino City. It was peaceful and quiet. Atem loved it.  _

_ He just didn’t understand what he was doing here.  _

_ One week ago, Kaiba had screamed at him at the duelling ground that he wanted his revenge and stuff. So Atem agreed. He liked duelling the taller man. They had made an appointment for another duel, and Atem had been confused when Kaiba had asked him to come alone.  _

_ But he hadn’t questioned it.  _

_ To be honest, he just wanted to be with Kaiba. Alone. So he had taken this opportunity with open arms.  _

_ But they didn’t duel. They just sat down and talked to each other. About the weather. About Mokuba and Yugi.  _

_ Atem really was confused.  _

_ And then Kaiba had begun to stare at him the whole time… _

_ “Kaiba, what is this? Why aren’t we duelling?” _

_ Atem could see Kaiba’s Adam’s apple moving up and down.  _

_ “We can duel! I just thought you needed some kind of… conversation?” _

_ Atem snorted.  _

_ “You mean some kind of foreplay?” _

_ Silence. Atem frowned. _

_ “Oh come on Kaiba, that was a joke. I know you have no humour but…” _

_ He was interrupted by a strong, cool hand which was placed on his knee.  _

_ Shocked, he stared at the young CEO, who was blushing a crimson red. _

Was Seto Kaiba touching him?

_ The young Pharaoh cursed internally, as he watched his body moving without his control. He turned his leg slightly to the side so Kaiba could reach it easier.  _

_ They both stared at each other and Atem felt his own cheeks heating up now.  _

_ He was sure this was a dream. And it wouldn’t be the first one. Atem dreamt about Seto. Almost every night he woke up sweating. He couldn’t stop thinking about the young, handsome brunet. _

_ But never in his wildest dreams he had imagined that Kaiba would touch him - at least not voluntarily.  _

_ When the CEO withdrew his hand, Atem bit his lip to suppress his tears of frustration. _

_ He shouldn’t have come here.  _

_ He should have stayed in bed, crying over articles about Kaiba dating stupid women. _

_ Atem dropped his head and stared at the tiny little blades of grass under him.  _

_ This was ridiculous.  _

_ He could hear Kaiba getting up. This was it. It was over now. This was all weird, and now Kaiba would ask him to never talk to him again. _

_ A minute passed by, and Atem just wanted to die. The sound of someone clearing his throat made him look up again.  _

_ With wide eyes, he stared at the thing right in front of him. A crimson red, beautiful rose floated right in front of his nose. It was so close, his nose almost touched it.  _

_ Atem swallowed. Hard.  _

_ He slowly looked up into Kaiba’s face, who was standing there, holding the rose in place. The CEO’s face was red, his eyes were puffy.  _

_ Atem inhaled the sweet scent of the beautiful flower - still locking eyes with Kaiba.  _

_ In the next second, he was lost in those two azure pools of water. _

_ “I… I really like you, Yami.” _

 

I tilted my head. 

Mr. Kaiba had gone quiet for two minutes straight, eyes closed, only inhaling the scent of the flower in his shaking hands. 

I’ve watched his expression change from surprise to sadness to happiness and back to sadness.

I wished I could see what he was thinking. 

Another moment passed by before the old man blinked and looked up. 

He cleared his throat. 

“Why are you staring at me, dumb thing? That is very impolite!”

I sighed. 

“Did it help you remember something?” I asked, not able to hide the excitement in my voice. 

“Yes.”

…

“And?”

“And what?”

“And what did you remember?”

“That isn’t your business.”

_ Fucking bastard.  _

“Oh come on, I bought you a rose!”

“So what? What do you expect, a medal?”

Mr. Kaiba was watching the flower in his hand, carefully brushing over its thorns. 

I tried to swallow my anger and be professional. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kaiba. You’re right. You don’t have to tell me anything. I will go now and come back to examine you later.” I said, bowed and left the room. 

I didn’t get an answer. 

 

The day passed by quickly. I came back to examine Mr. Kaiba, but he didn’t talk to me. He did nothing but look at the rose standing in an elegant vase on his nightstand. 

I had no time to be annoyed by his behaviour. There was much to do today. And since I had the day off on Friday, this was my last day for the week. 

Which meant that I would have the whole weekend to find the other things for Mr. Kaiba.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------

 

On Monday morning I knocked on his door again. The weekend had passed by quickly, but I had enough time to search for Mexican coffee and a piece of leather (which was way too expensive, thank you, asshole!). Also, the bottle of Atlantic seawater arrived. 

I had spent way too much money on this gay grandpa. 

But now, after three days of not getting any insults, I was motivated and excited all over again. 

Entering the room, I saw Mr. Kaiba sitting in his wheelchair, holding a small booklet in his fingers. 

He only gave me one quick look before continuing to read. 

I could feel my patience slipping again. 

“Good morning, Mr. Kaiba. Did you enjoy your weekend?” I asked almost too friendly and got a chair to sit next to him. 

“Hmm,” he answered, not looking up. 

I rolled my eyes before I placed a small jar filled with coffee beans on the table in front of him. 

Stopping in his motions to turn the page, the old man stared at it. 

There was a moment of silence. 

“Why?” he suddenly asked. 

“Because I like you.” 

He gave me a strange look. 

I couldn’t believe it, too, to be honest.

Slowly, Mr. Kaiba closed his booklet and reached for the glass on the table. 

It was my intention to help him, but I knew he would hate it, so I just watched his shaking fingers grabbing the glass. 

I had made sure that the jar wasn’t too tightly stoppered, though. 

He carefully opened it and sniffed the beans. 

  
  


_ “That was nice,” Atem stated, hands in his pockets, looking at his toes.  _

_ It was already late in the evening when they arrived at the game shop. Kaiba had insisted on getting out of his car to lead the Pharaoh to the door.  _

_ Now they were standing there, not daring to look at each other, trying to breathe in the cloud of gay panic.  _

_ It was their third date.  _

_ Atem was fucking frustrated.  _

_ They hadn’t touched each other again since the rose event, and the Pharaoh was wondering by now if they really had dates or just business meetings.  _

_ But he didn’t dare make the first move.  _

_ He was too afraid that Kaiba would be overwhelmed.  _

_ Kicking small stones on the street with his shoe, Atem searched his brain for something he could say. _

_ The nervosity was killing him. _

_ Why was it so impossible for them to just behave like normal people? _ _   
_ _ The Pharaoh clenched his fists.  _

_ “Yami?” _

_ Kaiba’s voice tore him out of his thoughts.  _

_ The young CEO was closer than before, looking at him with worry in his eyes.  _

_ “Are you okay?” _

_ Atem swallowed.  _

_ The taller man was so close, he could easily touch him if he reached out.  _

_ And he wanted to touch Kaiba.  _

_ He wanted to touch him so bad. _

_ But he couldn’t. Not when he wasn’t completely sure that Kaiba wanted it.  _

_ “Yami.” _

_ “Atem.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “My real name is Atem.” _

_ Kaiba frowned.  _

_ “Okay... Atem… is… there something else I need to know about you?” _

_ Atem’s heart was bursting.  _

Yeah. I love you _ , he thought bitterly.  _

_ Frustrated by the tears that filled his eyes, he bit his lip and shook his head.  _

_ Kaiba made another step towards him.  _

_ He was so near now, Atem had to tilt his head immensely to look him in the eye. _

_ The Pharaoh felt his blood rushing in his ears. He was so close.  _

_ So. Close.  _

_ Feeling slightly dizzy, Atem blinked. He felt like he was falling unconscious. _

_ In the next moment, a nice, warm feeling engulfed him completely. He must have lost his balance because Kaiba had felt the urge to stabilize him. The CEO was pulling him to his chest. Atem closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.  _

_ Kaiba smelled like coffee.  _

_ But not like regular coffee. Atem was no expert at that, but his nose had always been super sensitive. This was no normal coffee.  _

_ His head was spinning wildly as he arched his back to look at Kaiba’s face, still feeling dizzy.  _

_ “I’m sorry, I…” Atem began to speak when he was firmly interrupted by two soft lips pressing onto his own.  _

_ Kaiba even tasted like coffee. _

 

The noise of glass hitting wood woke me up. Opening my eyes and watching Mr. Kaiba place the jar back on the table, I realised with a jolt that I had fallen asleep. 

Fuck, I really had wanted to watch his expressions!

Rubbing my eyes, I had to suppress a yawn. 

“I miss him.”

Mr. Kaiba’s voice was barely a whisper. 

It broke my heart. 

I swallowed. Slowly, I placed my hand on his again. 

“I’m sorry. I really am. I can’t imagine how you must feel, having lost your husband after so many years.”

A tear landed on the back of my hand, and I reminded myself to control my own emotions. It wouldn’t help him if I cried, too. 

He just nodded.

“Mr. Kaiba… if this is too much for you, I am sorry. Just tell me, and I won’t bring you the other things.”

He looked up. 

“You have the other things?”

“Well… I have the piece of leather. And the bottle of seawater.”

“From the Atlantic Ocean?”   
“From the Atlantic Ocean.”

Mr. Kaiba was watching me suspiciously. 

“Where did you get it from?”

“The Internet.”

He snorted. 

“You could have at least driven there.”

My eyelid was twitching so hard, I was afraid to get a stroke. 

“Say it,” he spoke again.

“What?”

“Just go on and insult me.”

A wild grin found its way onto Mr. Kaiba’s face. 

“No! You’re my patient!”

“What if I don’t want to be, though?”

I frowned. 

“What do you mean?”

“What if I just don’t want to be seen as a patient for once?”

There was a moment of silence in which I thought about his statement. 

“Why do I have to insult you when you’re not my patient?”

The old man was laughing. 

“Because that’s what friends do. Now go and leave me alone, dumb thing.”

I wanted to say something against that, but I decided to close my mouth again. 

Maybe I should just accept that. 

Smiling politely, I went. 

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

It was already Wednesday when I knocked on Mr. Kaiba’s room again. The day before had been so stressful that I just hadn’t had time to look after him. 

When nobody answered, I slowly entered, thinking the old man just hadn’t heard me. 

In the middle of the room stood Mr. Kaiba’s wheelchair - it was empty. 

Panicking, I started to look for him. 

“Mr. Kaiba? Mr. Kaiba???”

_ Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.  _

He wasn’t in his bed, on the balcony or in his bathroom. 

In the next moment, the door behind me opened. 

A young blonde woman, apparently a physiotherapist, was supporting the slender figure of Mr. Kaiba walking on a rollator. 

I was surprised. 

“Oh wow, Mr. Kaiba! I didn’t know you still can walk!”

The old man snorted, beads of sweat on his forehead. 

“Me neither.”

I blinked in confusion. 

“He never wanted to work with us. Until yesterday,” the woman stated, smiling at him. 

“You’ve almost made it.”

“Yeah, I see that.”

I rolled my eyes. 

“Ignore his attitude. Thank you for your great work.”

The blonde winked at me. 

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

She made sure Mr. Kaiba reached his wheelchair before she bowed and left the room.    
I sighed. 

“Why do you always have to be…”

“...a pain in the ass?”

“Mean.”

He laughed, still searching for air. 

“Little thing is afraid of big words.”

“Shut up.”   
The old man chuckled. 

“Oh wow. That was harsh.”

_ This fucking bastard will kill me one day, _ I thought, deeply annoyed. 

Deciding to not discuss this any further, I sat down next to him. 

“Here. And I want to know all the details this time.”

I handed him a piece of neatly folded cow leather. 

Mr. Kaiba stared at that thing in my hand for a second before he slowly reached out to take it. 

Lost in thoughty, he brushed over the surface. 

Suddenly he took it up and inhaled its scent deeply.

 

_ “I want you. Now..” _

_ Atem stared into wide, azure eyes filled with lust.  _

_ He was sitting on one of Kaiba’s couches in his bedroom, his lover right next to him.  _

_ Kaiba’s sweet scent engulfed him and made him dizzy, but Atem tried to process what he had just heard.  _

_ The CEO leaned closer and placed soft kisses down Atem’s neck, while one strong hand wandered to gently stroke the bulge in the Pharaoh’s pants. _

Fuck. 

_ “Seto… wait…” Atem moaned but arched his back to get closer to his boyfriend. _

_ His body was moving, no matter what his brain wanted to say.  _

_ The brunet man groaned and carefully bit in the heated flesh under his teeth, causing Atem to cry out.  _

_ “Seto…”  _

_ It was barely a whisper.  _

_ “What?” _

_ Kaiba looked at him with big, cloudy eyes.  _

_ “What’s wrong?” _

_ Atem swallowed.  _

_ “Nothing… I… I just…”  _

_ The Pharaoh watched his boyfriend straighten himself.  _

_ “...You don’t want this, do you?” Kaiba’s voice sounded hoarse.  _

_ Atem’s eyes widened in shock.  _

_ “No! No… Hey, no. Please don’t think that.” He cupped Kaiba’s face, wanting him to look him in the eye.  _

_ “Baby, listen. I want nothing more than I want you. I’m just… I’m a bit worried. I just want you to be 100% sure you want this.” _

_ Atem watched his boyfriend snort. _

_ “What of my behaviour gave you the impression that I don’t want it?” _

_ It sounded like he was giving him an arrogant judgement about his duel tactics. _

_ The Pharaoh sighed.  _

_ “Nothing. I just wanted to be sure. Your past is…” _

_ “Don’t talk about that.” _

_ Atem blinked at this rude interruption.  _

_ “I’m sorry. I just… I want you so badly,” Kaiba whispered, softly brushing Atem’s hair out of his face.  _

_ The smaller man smiled lovingly at him.  _

_ “I want you, too. I love you, baby.” _

_ Kaiba swallowed.  _ _   
_ _ “I love you, too. I love you so much.” Before his voice could break, Atem reached out to kiss his boyfriend. It began as a soft, tender kiss but quickly developed into a passionate dance of their tongues. Gasping for air, Atem withdrew and started to kiss the CEO’s neck, impatiently tugging on his shirt.  _

_ Kaiba sensed that and leaned back to quickly get rid of it and tossed it in the corner of the room. _

_ God, he was so handsome.  _

_ The sight of his boyfriend’s bare, muscular chest made Atem weak.  _

_ “Do you like what you see, Pharaoh?” Kaiba chuckled. _

_ “Hmm…” was all the young man could answer, softly brushing his fingertips over the other man’s abdomen and back to his chest, before he paid attention to his nipples. Atem loved the way Kaiba whimpered when he flicked both of them at the same time. _

Lovely. 

_ Grinning, he let his hand wander further down and began to undo the KC belt when Kaiba stopped his hand mid-motion.  _

_ Atem frowned. Before he could ask what was wrong, he shrieked in surprise. Kaiba had ripped his shirt in two.  _

_ “I will buy you a new one…” the CEO mumbled and leaned over him, placing passionate kisses from his chest to his abdomen. Atem’s whole body shivered wildly.  _

_ “But will you buy me a new heart?”  _

_ Kaiba stopped with his face right above Atem’s belts.  _

_ “What?” _

_ “You stole my heart. Will you buy me a new one?” _

_ He could see the CEO blinking, before Kaiba gave him his most handsome smile. _

_ “No. But I’ll give you mine. Then we’re even.” _

_ “Jesus, this is fucking corny.” _

_ “You started it!” _

_ “I know.” Atem laughed, softly stroking his boyfriend’s head.  _

_ There was a small moment of silence in which the young man just thought about the beauty of the body in front of him.  _

_ Kaiba was so handsome.  _

_ He wanted him. _

_ He wanted him so badly. _

_ “Seto?” _

_ “Hm?” _

_ “Fuck me.” _

_ The brunet blinked rapidly.  _

_ “W..What?” _

_ Atem sighed. He quickly undid his belts and pulled his trousers alongside with his boxers to his knees. Then, he turned around to kneel on the couch, bending over the couch pillows. _

_ The Pharaoh felt his cheeks burn from blushing as he presented his boyfriend his bare ass. _

_ “Fuck me, Seto. Please.” _

_ It was more a whisper than a question. Atem felt just desperate. _

_ This was all he had ever wanted. He couldn’t wait anymore.  _

_ Kaiba nodded slowly. He got up to grab some lube and a condom from the nightstand. After wetting his fingers with the fluid, the CEO slowly drew closer. _

_ Atem was so nervous, he was trembling. Every nerve in his body was screaming. _

_ When Kaiba’s finger brushed over his rim, he hissed in surprise.  _

_ “What are you doing? Just… just fuck me, Seto!” _

_ Now he was really desperate. _

_ Kaiba frowned. _

_ “I… I can’t. I would hurt you. I… I have to prepare you.”  _ _   
_ _ He looked stressed. _

_ Atem swallowed.  _

_ “But… but I just want you to…FUCK” he moaned.  _

_ Kaiba had put one finger inside of him, slowly exploring Atem’s anus with careful movements. _

_ Every move sent heavy shivers down the Pharaoh’s spine.  _

_ “Oh… God…” _

_ “Does it hurt?” _

_ “No!” _

_ Kaiba chuckled.  _

_ “Do you like it?” _

_ “Shut up, Seto.” _

_ The CEO answered with pushing a second finger in. _

_ Atem moaned, desperately grabbing the leather under his fingers, searching for support. _

_ His dick was twitching excitedly, and he could feel his sticky precum being smeared on the sofa. The young man was so hard, it was almost painful. _

_ When his lover hit a specific spot deep inside of him, Atem cried out. A deep wave of heat piled up in his lower abdomen, and he could feel an orgasm drawing closer.  _

No, too soon! No! _   
_ _ Kaiba was busy scissoring his boyfriend open when he was interrupted by the latter one.  _

_ “Seto… I… I can’t…” _

_ Atem groaned out of frustration when the CEO withdrew, and a cold, empty feeling overcame him.  _

_ Turning his head, the Pharaoh watched Kaiba getting rid of his pants and boxers, putting the condom on with a hissing noise and preparing his way-too-big penis with a proud amount of lube.  _

Fuck.

_ This was it.  _

_ There was no way out.  _

_ Kaiba would fuck him now, and then he wouldn’t be a virgin anymore.  _

_ Swallowing the panic, Atem tried to control his senses.  _

_ He wanted this. He wanted this so much.  _

_ But what if… he wasn’t good enough? _ _   
_ _ What if he would disappoint the CEO? What if their first time wouldn’t be as good as it should be? _

_ “Atem.” _

_ The Pharaoh blinked and watched Kaiba over his shoulder.  _

_ “Are you okay?” The brunet man looked worried.  _

_ Atem swallowed.  _

_ “I just want it to be perfect,” he whispered, swallowing dryly.  _

_ Kaiba smiled lovingly at him.  _

_ “But it already is perfect, Pharaoh. This is all I ever wanted and even more. I love you with all my being. And I will love what will happen now.” _

_ Atem had to swallow again, this time to get rid of his spiralling emotions. He didn’t want to cry on his first time. _

_ He loved Kaiba so much, his heart almost stopped.  _

_ “I love you, too.” Atem’s words were barely audible.  _

_ The taller man smiled again before he gave his boyfriend a questioning look.  _

_ Atem nodded. To support his words, he pushed his hips backwards and placed his head down on the couch pillows.  _

_ When the tip of Kaiba’s dick touched his entrance, Atem inhaled deeply.  _

_ It smelled like leather. Expensive cow leather with a mixture of his own sweat.  _

_ In the next moment, Atem was spread widely as the CEO pushed carefully inside him. The Pharaoh bit his lip, whimpering when the stinging pain slowly eased up. Kaiba was incredibly gentle as he pushed deeper, filling his lover entirely and waiting for him to get used to the feeling.  _

_ Atem felt full. After all this time, he was finally united with Seto.  _

_ The thought calmed his racing heart.  _

_ He could hear Kaiba’s breathing speed up as he slowly began to move.  _

_ Kaiba was fucking him. _

_ The Pharaoh’s brain couldn’t process that thought. _

_ Closing his eyes, Atem tried to adjust at the motions, arching his hip to make it easier for the CEO to fill him completely.  _

_ He could cum right now.  _

To soon! _ He cursed internally.  _

_ Trying his best to ignore the tension building up in his groin, he heard Kaiba moan heavily.  _

_ The taller man tightened his grip on Atem’s thighs and pushed in deeper - two, three times before he suddenly tensed completely, crying out with a hoarse “Fuck!” and then relaxing again.  _

_ Atem blinked in confusion.  _

_ “...Did you just cum?” _

_ Kaiba was breathing heavily. “I… I guess…” _

_ The Pharaoh turned his head to stare at him incredulously. _

_ “I’m sorry! I … I couldn’t… It was too much… it was too good!” _

_ The CEO looked stressed again, still searching for air.  _

_ Atem grinned.  _

_ “So good that you enjoyed it for a whole 30 seconds?” _

_ The brunet gave him a dark stare. “Who said that I’m done?” _

_ Biting his lip, Atem felt his own dick twitch with excitement.  _

_ “Biology?” _

_ “Fuck biology.” Kaiba groaned and began to move again.  _

What… the fuck?

_ Atem put down his head on the pillows as Kaiba fucked him again, this time harder and more passionately.  _

How could he still be that hard?

_ The Pharaoh hadn’t any time to think about this any further when his lover changed his angle of movement and hit the sweet right spot right inside of him.  _

_ It took him four more enthusiastic thrusts before Atem came heavily onto the sofa, almost losing his mind.  _

_ When his body finally relaxed after multiple heavy shivers, he inhaled deeply. _

_ It smelled like leather, sweat and semen. _

  
  


I frowned. 

That piece of fabric definitely had moved something inside of Mr. Kaiba, but I couldn’t read his expressions.

When he looked up again, the old man grinned at me. It was a very childish, dirty grin. 

“Are you sure you want to know everything in detail about this?”

Swallowing dryly, I got up. 

“Oh, I suddenly remembered that I have to check Mr. Claire’s blood pressure…” I mumbled, trying to ignore the fact that my cheeks were burning with embarrassment. 

“Oh, I’m sure you have to. And I also have to do something now.”

Mr. Kaiba smiled devilishly. Never in my life had I left a room so quickly.

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

_ Why am I doing this? _ I thought as I stood right in front of Atem Kaiba’s door the next morning. 

_ Why am I bringing this bastard things he could masturbate to? _

I sighed. 

This was the last item. I shouldn’t be that harsh to him.

Looking at the bottle in my hands thoughtfully for a moment, I shrugged and knocked on the door. 

“Come in stupid thing!”

_ The sound of pure innocence.  _

I entered the room. Mr. Kaiba was sitting in his wheelchair right in the middle of the room. 

“I was waiting for you,” he purred, smirking at me. 

Touching his dick clearly had lifted his mood. I just didn’t know if this was good or bad.

Without a word, I placed the bottle filled with water on the table. 

The old man looked at it and nodded, clearly satisfied. 

“I hope for you that this is the right water.”

“Just try it out.” I sounded more frustrated that I wanted to.

Mr. Kaiba watched me for a moment before he suddenly grabbed the bottle and plopped its shutter open. Pulling it to his nose, he took a deep breath.

 

_ “No… only five more minutes” Atem mumbled into the cushions and tried to pull the blanket over his head, but failed miserably as Kaiba prevented him from doing so.  _

_ “Come on, Pharaoh. You will like it,” the CEO chuckled, softly caressing Atem’s cheek.  _

_ “You know what I also like? Sleep!” _

_ Why? Why did Seto wake him in the middle of the night? It was still completely dark! _

_ Sighing, Kaiba suddenly put his strong arms around Atem’s slender figure and lifted him from the bed to carry him into the bathroom.  _

_ “No! Put me down! Seto!!!” _

_ The Pharaoh was too tired to fight his boyfriend effectively. Not that he ever had a real chance.  _

_ Mumbling one curse after another, Atem finally managed to put some clothes on, always under the strict gaze of his lover.  _

_ It was their third day on vacation in Miami. Why did he have to get up early on vacation? _ _   
_ _ Deciding not to insult his boyfriend any further, Atem followed him obediently out of their holiday house.  _

_ To his surprise, Atem had to admit that it wasn’t that dark anymore. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but he could see the outlines of the other buildings and big palms on the beach very clearly. _

_ They were the only two human beings in the entire area in front of them.  _

_ Turning his head, Atem tried to identify the expression on the CEO’s face. Kaiba was looking firmly into the distance, seeming to be lost in his own thoughts.  _

_ What were they doing here? _

_ Was everything okay?  _

_ Frowning, Atem looked down on his bare feet which sunk into the warm sand with every step.  _

_ What if Kaiba wanted to tell him something? Something important? _ _   
_ _ What if… he wanted to break up? _

_ Atem swallowed dryly. _

_ No… No, that didn’t make sense. He would have told him back in the house. Unless… unless he was leading him to another hotel to stay after he broke up with him.  _

_ Atem’s heart was skipping a beat.  _

_ Was there something he didn’t get? Something he did wrong? _

_ Did Kaiba meet someone? _

_ “Atem.” _

_ The Pharaoh flinched and looked up.  _

_ Kaiba was standing right in front of him. His blue eyes sparkled in the mild sunlight as he watched… _

_ Sunlight? _

_ Atem blinked and turned around.  _

_ He hadn’t realised how long they had been walking down the beach, but while the young man was spiralling in his thoughts, the sun had come up.  _

_ A big orange ball of shining light floated right over the horizon and turned everything it touched into a warm shade of red. The sea underneath tried its best to mirror the burning sky, drawing a piece of art on the Atlantic Ocean. _

_ It was breathtaking.  _

_ Atem couldn’t get enough of this. His mind went blissfully quiet as he watched the sight in front of him with big eyes.  _

_ This was truly beautiful. _

_ Turning his head back to Kaiba, Atem swallowed.  _

_ “I…” _

_ “I know,” the CEO whispered and leaned down to kiss him gently.  _

Why is this man so perfect?  _ Atem thought, feeling his heart burn with pure love.  _

_ He suddenly felt bad for his panic earlier.  _

_ Sighing into the kiss, Atem madea noise of protest when Kaiba ended it.  _

_ “I have to show you something,” Seto whispered.  _

_ “Oh, I’m sure I know it already.” The Pharaoh wiggled his eyebrows. _

_ If Kaiba wanted to fuck him in the morning sun, he was so ready. _

_ The CEO chuckled. “I wouldn’t bet that.” _

_ Frowning, Atem watched is boyfriend take a few steps towards the water.  _

_ He followed him quickly.  _

_ When the first waves of water reached his toes, Atem stopped and stared at a small bottle of glass which was placed right in front of him in the wet sand. Only its head was visible on the surface, but Atem could see something inside the bottle. _

_ Looking at Kaiba with big eyes, he asked what this was.  _

_ The brunet shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess you have to look at what it is.” _

_ Atem squinted at his boyfriend suspiciously before his excitement took over and he pulled the bottle out of the sand. Inside it, behind thick glass, was a small piece of parchment. _

_ “A message in a bottle!”  _

_ That was exciting.  _

_ Opening the cap with a loud “plop”, Atem quickly shook out the contents. When he opened the paper, a powerful scent of seawater reached his nose. _

_ Clearing his throat, he began to read aloud:  _

 

“Dear Pharaoh, 

 

I have thought about all the things I could write down to tell you how much you mean to me, but I have come to the conclusion that there are not enough words on this earth to explain you how I feel. You saved me from the darkest of places, fought my demons by my side and showed me what true, unconditionally love really means. With you, I have found the meaning of life. You mean everything to me and I love you with every fiber of my body. I want to live on your side for the rest of my dear life. 

 

Dear Atem, 

look up.”

 

_ When the young man read the last words, he slowly raised his gaze to stare at Kaiba, who was kneeling right in front of him. In his hand, Seto held a small, dark blue, opened box. In the middle of the box, a tiny, golden ring was shining in the sunlight.  _

_ “Will you marry me, Pharaoh?” _

  
  
  


Swallowing dryly, I reached for the tissues on the table to offer Mr. Kaiba one. The old man was still busy sniffing the bottle while thick tears were running down his cheeks. 

“Are you okay?” I asked carefully. 

Blinking, Mr. Kaiba nodded and accepted the handkerchief to clean his nose.

“You want to tell me about it?”

I didn’t get my hopes up. I just wanted to help this poor, old man. 

Mr. Kaiba tilted his head. 

“You want to see my rings?”

“... Ah… Yes, I would love that.” I answered slowly, confused by the suddenly friendly voice of the man in front of me. 

He smiled and reached out to show me his shaking hand. I gently held it in mine and looked at the two golden rings on his middle and ring finger. One of them was simply gold and looked as it was used regularly, the other one had a rich, tiny pattern of hieroglyphics on it. It looked just like new.

“I decided to wear both of them after he died. That engagement ring was way too expensive to rot in my nightstand.”

“They both look very beautiful. And insanely expensive.”

Mr. Kaiba winked at me. 

“They were. He truly pampered me with all his money.”

“I bet that,” I mumbled. 

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.”

He grinned at me. 

“Are you jealous, dumb thing?”

“No!”

His laugh echoed through the big room. A sound so delicate, it sounded almost like a little harmony. 

I liked it. 

“Of course you’re not. I wouldn’t be if I were you. You’re young and pretty and never lonely.” His words became quieter with every second. 

I swallowed. 

“I wouldn’t bet that.”

Mr. Kaiba looked up to meet my gaze and I was surprised to see something like empathy in the crimson eyes in front of me. 

He placed one shaking hand on the back of mine. 

“Thank you.”

The old man gave me a gentle smile. 

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that I can’t bring you the last item.”

He laughed. 

“Have you find out yet what it means?”

“Of course I have! ‘Petrichor - a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather’” I quoted proudly. 

“What a nerd.”

I gave him an offended look. 

A sudden knock on the door prevented me from saying something unprofessional. 

“Kim? Can you help me real quick? I can’t read Mr. Smith’s handwriting.” Clara, one of the young nurses, lurked through the door. 

“Coming!” I answered before I got up. “I will visit you tomorrow again, Mr. Kaiba. I’m afraid this will be my last day here, though.”

The old man blinked before answering me. 

“Finally, I thought you would never leave!”

His voice sounded weaker than usual. 

I sighed. 

“Have a good day.”

And with that, I hurried to follow Clara, closing the door behind me. 

 

Mr. Smith really had left a chaos of paper on the patient files, and I was glad to offer some experience from the years of reading the handwriting of stressed doctors. Together with Clara, I managed to understand his orders. 

 

\------------------------------------------------------

 

When I unlocked the door to my flat, I hesitated for a second. The air was suddenly incredibly muggy. 

_ It hasn’t rained for weeks, _ I thought while entering my own four walls.

Tossing my bag to the side, I quickly picked up the laundry from my balcony before it could get wet. 

I began to fold the pieces of clothing neatly, completely lost in my thoughts. Tomorrow would be my last day at the retirement home. Then I would have to go back to uni. I hated that thought. It surprised me to see how much I felt at home working at the building. But I had to admit that the thing I would miss the most were the conversations with Mr. Kaiba. 

Sighing, I watched the first raindrops fall on the ground. In the next few seconds, the sky ripped open, and it poured like a waterfall. 

_ The first rain after four dry weeks,  _ I thought, mesmerized by this spectacle of nature. 

_ Wait… what? _

I pulled the window open to jump onto my balcony.

I inhaled deeply. 

_ Petrichor.  _

I quickly made my way back to the hallway, grabbed my bag and left my home. 

When I arrived at the retirement home, every piece of clothing I was wearing was wet. Leaning my bike against the wall carelessly, I ran up the stairs into the building. 

“Kim?... What… what are you doing here?”

“I’ll explain later!” I called after Clara before I knocked on Mr. Kaiba’s door and entered. 

He was sitting in his wheelchair in front of the big windows, watching the rain. 

“P-Petrichor!” I stuttered, approaching him. 

“Petrichor,” he just said, his gaze completely empty. 

I opened the door to the balcony, and the scent of petrichor flooded the room. 

When I turned around again, I saw Mr. Kaiba sob. 

It broke my heart. 

Taking his hand in mine, I knelt down in front of him. 

“What can I do for you?” I asked, feeling my heart bleed. 

He looked at me for a few seconds, as if he was questioning if he could trust me or not. 

“There is something, indeed,” he finally whispered. 

  
  


_ “We are here today, on this day of grief, to pay our tribute and our respect to a man we all have loved deeply. A man, that was a brother, a friend, a husband, a lover. A man, that…” _

_ Atem couldn’t hear it anymore. _

_ He couldn’t handle the pastor saying these words.  _

_ He was fucking angry.  _

_ Letting his gaze wander over the mass of people, he hissed derogatorily.  _

_ Who the fuck were these people? _

_ Atem didn’t know any of them.  _

_ Not a single one.  _

_ All of Seto’s friends were dead.  _

_ Even his little brother had died years ago. _

_ Staring at the people next to him, he identified a few faces.  _

Business man, business man, business man, business man, business woman, business man… _ Atem listed the crowd on his right. _

_ Of course.  _

_ They were here because of Kaiba’s money.  _

Every single one of these fuckfaces are here to get a piece from the pie, _ he thought bitterly. _

_ They didn’t know that Atem was now the head of Kaiba Corporation. Not that he had ever wanted to be that, but after Mokuba’s death, Seto couldn’t manage to find a fitting successor.  _

_ “...to say that Seto Kaiba was a man of God, our brother, who…” _

_ Atem started laughing. It was a hoarse noise, full of bitterness.  _

_ The pastor blinked at him in confusion.  _

_ “Excuse me, I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” the Pharaoh stated, but continued in the next moment, “Although I don’t know why am I listening to this bullshit.” _

_ A murmur went through the crowd.  _

_ “What? Oh no, the crazy angry grandpa is crashing the party?” _

_ “Mr. Mutou, I…” _

_ “Kaiba. My name is Kaiba, asshole!” _

_ Atem watched the pastor’s head turn red.  _

_ “How are you talking to the man of God?” an old lady next to him hissed. _

_ The elderly man grinned at her wildly.  _

_ “And who are you, bitch?” _

_ “MR. KAIBA! I won’t allow you to disturb your husband’s peace!” the pastor shouted.  _

_ The crowd went quiet.  _

_ Atem swallowed.  _

_ “You know nothing about my husband.” _

_ “I am here to make sure he’ll find his peace. And you are preventing me from doing so. So behave, or go!” _

_ The Pharaoh clenched his shaking fists, staring at the audience. All eyes laid on him.  _

_ “You know what? You all don’t deserve to be here. None of you. You didn’t know my husband. You didn’t watch him suffer and die. But I did. And it is my right to be here.” _

_ There was another long moment of silence. _

_ “Mr. Kaiba. I understand your grief, but if you don’t let me do my job, then…” _

_ “Then do it! Do your job and tell all these bastards to leave! Stop talking about God and shit! Do your fucking job and let me carry the love of my life to the grave, for fuck’s sake!” _

_ The pastor looked at him with empty eyes.  _

_ Nobody said a word.  _

_ Not a single person at the funeral dared to raise their voice.  _

_ As the silence lasted, the first raindrops began to fall.  _

_ It was the first rain after two months of hot and dry weather.  _

_ When the water hit the piles of fresh earth next to Seto’s grave, a distinctive scent engulfed Atem’s senses.  _

_ Petrichor.  _

  
  


I bit my lip, trying to stop the tears in my eyes from breaking out. 

“What happened then?” I asked. 

“Nothing. I went home.”

I frowned. 

“But what about the funeral?”

Mr. Kaiba stared at the thick, grey tombstone which was glossy from the rain. 

“They made me go.”

“What? They… they banned you… from your own husband’s funeral?”

He nodded weakly.    
I couldn’t believe it. 

“Fucking heartless assholes,” I stated.

Mr Kaiba tilted his head to look at me, a small smirk on his face. 

“I like when you’re cursing.”

“I learnt from the best.”

He gave me an unsteady smile. 

We continued to look at Seto Kaiba’s grave, listening to the sound of the pouring rain hitting the tombstone. 

‘In loving memory’ was the only thing that was written on it. 

“Why doesn’t it have his name on it?”

The old man chuckled. 

“Do you want all the fuckfaces to take selfies with it? No. I’m the only one that should remember its place.”

I nodded in agreement, placing the big umbrella in my other hand to make sure Mr Kaiba wouldn’t get wet. 

He suddenly opened his bag with shaking hands. 

I watched him take out the things I bought for him - the rose, neatly wrapped in some paper, the jar of coffee beans, the piece of leather and the bottle of seawater. 

He almost dropped half of it because of his shaking hands. I knelt down to help him. 

Mr. Kaiba looked at me with sad eyes. A trembling, wrinkly hand found its place on my cheek. 

“Look at you, dumb thing. Getting a cold in the rain with a crazy gay grandpa.”

I smiled. 

“Dumb thing can’t imagine something better to do.”

“Don’t lie to me!” he laughed.

“I don’t.”

He sighed, before putting the rest of the items in my hands. 

“This is my ceremony. My funeral, just for him. I want to end with that, before I die.”

I swallowed dryly. 

“Don’t say that.”

The old man smiled at me.   
“You are really dumb when you think I’m immortal. Now go and be my little errand boy.”

I rolled my eyes and got up. Placing the umbrella carefully in Mr. Kaiba’s hands, I stepped in the rain. 

Never in my life would I have imagined that I would stand here one day, in front of Seto Kaiba’s grave and put down items as a sacrifice. 

Placing all four items next to the tombstone, I brushed over the inscription gently.

 

“This is for you, baby,” Mr. Kaiba began to speak. 

“I am so sorry I couldn’t handle all those bastards at your funeral. But you know me. And you weren’t there to hold me back like you always did. And I am so sorry I couldn’t make it here earlier.”

His voice broke. 

“You should have invented a special technology for wheelchairs. I could have visited you every day.”

I got up to stand next to him, holding the umbrella for him again. 

“And I think it is such insolence that you died before me! Even after I became mortal, you still managed to outdo me.”

I blinked at his last words but didn’t interrupt him. 

“I miss you. I miss you so much. And I can’t wait to be with you again. Never in my life have I thought that I could love someone as I loved you. 23 years of marriage and I still have the feeling it wasn’t enough.”

I couldn’t handle it anymore. The tears were streaming down my face.

“I wish I could have told you all this earlier. I love you. I loved you, and I will always love you. You are the missing piece of my soul, you made me complete. And now you’re gone.”

He started sobbing. 

Crying without any control, I placed a warm hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

“Thank you, baby. Thank you for saving me. For making my life complete. Thank you for loving me more than I ever deserved it. Thank you for all these wonderful memories. You were the best friend, lover and husband I could have ever imagined. Thank you, Seto. I will soon be with you again.”

When he finished, his whole body was trembling wildly as he cried heartbreakingly. 

And I cried with him. 

We cried together until the rain slowly stopped. 

Inhaling deeply, Mr. Kaiba looked at me with puffy eyes. 

“I’m ready to go.”

I swallowed. 

“You sure?”

“Yes. I will be here again, soon.”

My heart started bleeding, but I just nodded. I didn’t want him to go. This man meant so much to me. And I just realised that in that moment. 

“Kim?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.” 

Mr. Kaiba took my hands in his shaking ones. 

“You are really one of the kindest people I have ever met. I am convinced that you will be a great doctor one day. Thank you for all your help. Thank you for bringing me peace.”

I made a grimace, trying to suppress my sobs.

“You’re welcome.”

We locked eyes for a moment before he spoke again.

“Now stop crying, you look fucking ugly.”

I shook my head and chuckled. 

“Fuck you, too, grandpa.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! :3 I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.   
> Dear Taedae, thank you for all your love and support and your great editing skills! I love you very very much!!! <3
> 
> Peace,   
> EMP


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